Bakteeririski is considered across multiple domains, including food safety, drinking water, healthcare facilities, and the natural and built environment. It is also a concern for antimicrobial resistance, since resistant bacteria can complicate treatment and worsen outcomes.
Risk assessment frameworks typically include hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose–response (quantitative microbial risk assessment, QMRA), and risk characterization. Uncertainty and variability are typically quantified to inform decisions about control measures and resource allocation.
Drivers of bakteeririski include contamination sources (raw foods, contaminated water, poor sanitation), survival and growth under favorable conditions (temperature, pH, moisture), and human behavior and infrastructure lapses. Global supply chains and crowded settings can amplify exposure.
Health impacts range from self-limited gastroenteritis to invasive infections and sepsis, with higher risk for young children, older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and hospitalized patients.
Detection and surveillance rely on microbiology laboratory methods, including culture, molecular tests, and rapid assays, as well as environmental monitoring. Data from surveillance support risk assessment, outbreak investigation, and policy decisions.
Mitigation includes good hygiene and sanitation practices, HACCP-based food safety programs, pasteurization, disinfection, water treatment, and appropriate storage. In clinical settings, infection prevention, isolation when needed, and antimicrobial stewardship reduce bakteeririski.
Regulatory frameworks and guidance from organizations such as the World Health Organization, FAO, and EFSA promote risk-based standards and surveillance for bacterial hazards in food, water, and health care.